GAZA CITY: An Israeli air strike killed three Palestinians on Thursday, bringing the toll from Israeli new operation against Gaza militants to 11 dead and at least 100 wounded, medical officials said.
The armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said that the three men were all members and were hit as they travelled in a motorcyle-taxi.
The Israeli military launched its operation on Wednesday with the killing of a top Hamas commander followed by what Palestinians said were at least 60 Israeli air strikes.
Ahmed Jaabari, the operational commander of Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, was killed along with his bodyguard, Mohammed al-Hams, in an initial Israeli strike on a car in Gaza City, the movement said.
Shortly afterwards, Israel pounded the Gaza Strip with more strikes, killing five more people, two of them children, Hamas health minister Mufid Mukhalalati said in a televised press conference at Gaza City's Shifa hospital.
Late Wednesday medics reported another fatality in the wave of strikes on targets across the territory.
Hospitals and medical centres across Gaza were put on high alert after the initial strikes as Israel warned the hit on Jaabari was only "the beginning" and said "a significant number" of arms dumps were within civilian and residential areas.
Hamas's Al-Aqsa television showed ambulances racing through the streets on Wednesday, transporting casualties to crowded emergency rooms, including at the Shifa hospital.
A man wearing blue pyjamas was seen carrying his son and two men supported an elderly man as he struggled to move away from the site of one explosion.
The attacks came after a flare-up in violence between Israel and Gaza-based groups, which saw more than 120 rockets fired from the Palestinian territory into the Jewish state, and Israeli air strikes and shelling that killed seven people.
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@Cautious:
You really fail to understand the dynamics of the situation do you. The problem in the Palestine/Israel conflict is that "immigrant" jews from mainland europe, russia etc, decided to migrate to palestine(which was a well established nation) and take their lands, homes, businesses with the help of the brits and french at the time due to haulocast sympathies. Its bascially an "invasion" or "occupation" if you will which is the dicisive point.
Pakistan and India do not "occupy" one another which is why going back to a one state solution is impractical. At time of partition there were clearly defined boundaries for division with the inbetweeners given the option by both nations to choose where they wanted ti live.
Don't try to mix up to different ball games with one another in the hope of validating your point. Everyone knows the truth so just embrace it.
According to media news Israelis Drones and F16 hits several civilian targets in Gaza and killed more than ten people including Hammas security chief Ahmed Jaber. Israelis assassinations attempts and target killings are not new for Philistine people. Sheikh Ahmed Yasin, Abdul Aziz Rentasi and several other top officials lost their lives in Israelis targeted operations and air strikes. Due to recent Israeli brutalities ,world silence and double standard of big powers things are going bad to worst in occupied Gaza and whole region is affected. Unfortunately Israel still not realize now Israel is living in different Middle east. After Israeli air strikes Egypt government immediately recalled its ambassador to Israel. Big demonstrations also held in Turkey and Egypt. Turkey and Israel relations are also passing though worse stage of it history after Israeli attack on Turkey ship bound to Gaza some months also. Its seem true that Israel is deliberately escalating violence in Gaza and using Drones and F16 in most densely populated areas against civilian population. Poor quipped and lack of facilities Gaza hospitals find it hard to deal large number of critically injured people most of them are women and children. Nathan Yahoo government is trying hard to raise falling graph of his party and get political benefit from recent situation before next month’s elections . Philistine authorities are also seeing non permanent observer status in UNO on 29 Nov this month. According to UNO own observers due to Israel’s long siege Gaza has become world largest prison these days with no daily facilities of life. True reality is that long siege of Gaza has become big question for conscience of modern world but unfortunately due to US backing UNO security council has failed to end long siege of Gaza and Israel’s brutalities against civilian population.
@SK5
Great idea -- lets take it one step further and use the "one state solution" to resolve the problems with India. Both solutions conveniently ignore the reasons for the formation of Pakistan/Israel and overlook years of hostility -- but take your best shot.
cautious: stop crying and get a life.
@Cautious:
You know why, because Israel is not serious about peace with palestine if they where they would've accepted the one state solution. They have such strict placements with palestine as if there running the world's largest detention camp and committing inumerable human rights violations. On top of that they illegally blockade the Gaza strip despite repeated UN and international community resolutions to lift this blockade which is killing the lives of innocent civilians. And you ask why the rockets fly through, when you make someone this desperate its hard not to imagine why.
My sympathies are only with the children of Israel as they have to pay for the crimes of the father.
No sympathy ever expressed for the Israeli civilians who had over a hundred rockets fired at them before Israel retaliated. When Afghanistan fires a few mortars across your border you get justifiably upset -- can't image Pakistan waiting until the number gets into the hundreds before you respond.
@waseem: Spot on waseem. Never can peace and democracy come to the middle east cause of three main parties, The Americans, Israelis and Arab Kingdoms. They all have their "business" interests and are all well aware that democracy will threaten their established cash cows. Notice that the only democracies in the mid-east e.g. Iran, Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine have become conflict zones and are at odds with these "peace" parties.
But for Arab dictators are more interested in Syria , to overthrow anti US anti ISRAEL Basharal Asad. i wish if they would support peace and democracy dispite of supplying weapons to the rebels , ops ! democracy ? does it exist even in any of Arab kingdoms ?